18 smart home technology facts you need to know

Once a bastion for only the most tech-savvy homeowners, today the market for smart home technology is expanding at an unprecedented rate. From smart lighting to smart thermostats, manufacturers are making more intelligent products — and selling more units.

“It’s easy for even the most tech-wary consumer to see how smart home features can provide health benefits and simplify everyday tasks,” said Bryant Bilal, PE, marketing manager at Eaton’s lighting division. “As ease of use improves and costs drop, the percentage of homes that are connected will continue to increase.”

Smart lighting is just one piece of a total smart home revolution, which is why we did a deep dive and collected these 18 eye-opening facts and statistics on everything from popular smart home devices to growing consumer awareness.

Smart home technology facts and figures

The Internet of Things (IoT) will grow by 17 percent in 2017. (Strategy Analytics)

America’s smart home market is projected to grow by 62.7 percent from 2017-2020. (Statista, Inc.)

In 2017, CNET partnered with Coldwell Banker Real Estate to develop an industry standard for smart homes. “A true smart home should be equipped with ‘network-connected products (via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or similar protocols) for controlling, automating and optimizing functions such as temperature, lighting, security, safety or entertainment, either remotely by a phone, tablet, computer or a separate system within the home itself.” (The Washington Post)

Sixty-five percent of homebuyers are willing to spend more for smart home technology packages. (The Washington Post)

But smart homes aren’t limited to new construction. Research by Coldwell Banker found that 57 percent of buyers considering older homes would view them as updated — and more appealing — if they have existing smart home features. (The Washington Post)

Worldwide, approximately 12 percent of internet users worldwide already use smart home technology, while another 33 percent are “very likely” to do so. (eMarketer)

The millennial generation is at the forefront of the smart home revolution. In 2015, more than two-thirds of all adults aged 25 to 34 were living in wireless-only households. (MarketWatch)

S&P Global Market Intelligence projects that smart homes in the United States will exceed 35 million by 2021. A growing number of connected devices in the home, plus consumers’ desire for communication and interoperability among devices, will primarily fuel this growth.

Smart home devices in the United States will reach 29 million units in 2017, a 63 percent increase from 2016. (eMarketer)

By 2021, smart home devices will surpass smartphones as a share of deployed connected/IoT devices. (Strategy Analytics)

On Black Friday in 2017, three of the top five selling products were smart home gadgets: the Echo Dot 2nd Generation, Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote and TP-Link Smart Plug. (Forbes)

The most common smart home devices include appliances, camera systems, thermostats, security systems and lighting. (eMarketer)

Lighting control, at 70 percent, is the daily home automation feature most frequently used. (Nielsen)

Smart lights appear on a short list of technologies beginning to appear on many buyers’ must-have lists because of its ability to improve security and comfort and cut electricity costs. (MarketWatch)

More than one-fifth of United States internet users surveyed stated they already own or are very familiar with wireless lighting that can be controlled from a smartphone device. (eMarketer)

Safety and convenience top the list of reasons why consumers adopt smart home technology. (eMarketer)

Many consumers would buy smart home devices if they were more affordable. (eMarketer)

IoT growth is higher than ever, but annual growth will begin to tail off as the market normalizes in the near future, dropping to 9 percent by 2021. (Strategy Analytics)

Despite a meteoric rise in recent years, most consumers still need a clear value proposition before they will adopt smart home devices or home automation systems.

“The cool factor will only take things so far,” Bryant said. “It has to be something that makes the consumer’s life easier, simpler or more comfortable.

“The reality is that 90 percent of the population could likely benefit from connected lighting right now, and it’s our job to tell that story in an effective way.”

Eaton is a power management company with 2018 sales of $21.6 billion. We provide energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton is dedicated to improving the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton has approximately 100,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries.